Making Mental Fitness an Everyday Practice

In this episode, Sandy discusses with her personal mental wellness gurus, Beth Shaha & Jen Hampton, what mental fitness means to them and how they incorporate it into everyday life.

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Beth introduces the concept of “the power of the pause” and using it to make decisions while Jen talks about the importance of listening to what your body is telling you and tapping into your own intuition.   Both bring powerful insights and practices that will help us all to make mental fitness part of our daily routine.

 

Show Notes

00:23 Sandy opens the show by introducing Beth Shaha and Jen Hampton, her “personal gurus”

2:54 Jen’s definition of mental fitness reminds us all to take a chance on ourselves

6:13 Beth defines mental fitness as making the choice to be intentional about being present for each moment

12:10 Jen goes in depth on the truth of intuition and receiving confirmation through your body

18:00 Beth uses the phrase “the power of the pause” to illustrate the power in taking the time to make decisions 

23:50 Sandy asks the guests, what are the small things you do everyday for your mental fitness? 

28:59 The group discusses embracing “messy” personal things that are good for you no matter how unpopular they may seem to others

31:10 Beth implores the audience to stay in tune with themselves and surrounded by people who feed your soul

33:26 Being intentional about addressing your needs

35:50 Sandy closes the show, previewing a future discussion on the body/mind connection 


Life After The Military: Jon King and Sam Dreyer

We are privileged to have Sam Dreyer and Jon King from Microsoft to share the challenges and victories they experienced while joining the workforce after the military. Together, they have a combined 20+ years of service, along with their own incredible stories of mental health experiences.

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Join us for an episode of 

  • Learning how to nurture your network even after committing to a job 
  • Exploring the MSSA program and why veterans MUST take advantage of it
  • Reinforcing that a medical diagnosis doesn’t define you

 

Help is always available. 

NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE 

(800)-273-8225

 

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

 

SAM DREYER: Since his exit from the Army, Sam has worked in multiple information technology positions with CompUSA, IBM, Wipro Technologies, and has spent the last nine years with Microsoft. He currently works as a Senior Customer Success Account Manager.

 

JON KING: Jon served in the United States Army as a rotary wing pilot and aviator. Like Sam, Jon currently works as a Customer Success Account Manager.


Championship Traits For Life - Leah O'Brien Amico

The greatest of all-time debate is something that never stops raging amongst sports fans. Like any true debate – in order to even crown a title like that – you must first set the standards – and thats usually where the conflict begins. Is it based on championships? Today’s guest has won two world championships, three national championships, and three olympic gold medals.

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Or is it based on personal accolades? She is also a top-50 athlete in California history all-time, A three-time first-team all-American, a 3-time first-team academic all-American, a University of Arizona Hall of fame honoree, a national softball hall-of-fame honoree, and she holds the record for a batting average in a single college world series tournament, having hit .750.

While that resume, along with a selection to ESPN’s Greatest of all time softball team, probably qualifies our guest as a GOAT – we believe the true definition of that title comes not just from accolades, awards, and performance, but the type of person that you are – and our guest today has the resume to back that up too.

Our guest today, Leah O’Brien Amico, is one of the most prolific softball players of all time. In addition to everything mentioned above, Leah is also a professional and inspirational speaker with over 20 years of experience, a published author having written “Victorious” and “Softball, Glory, and God’s Story”, and an analyst for ESPN and Westwood One Sports and the host of “the gold standard podcast”. Amongst all of that, she is a dedicated mother to her three boys and is committed to empowering others to meet their potential.


Championship Traits For Life - Coach Shawnee Harle

Just like an athletes career, coaching can take many different roads with many different roles. Some of us get into coaching through volunteer work while, for others, the job is a calling. No matter the case, no two coaching journeys are the same – but, with that said, at the end of the day, the common thread that binds great coaches together is to teach, to motivate and to help athletes use sport as a vehicle for their growth as human beings – because winning – however you choose to define that word – tends to take care of itself when that happens.

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Today’s guest, Coach Shawnee Harle, has nearly 30 years experience in  coaching which includes appearances at the World University games, the FIBA Americas, the World Championships and two olympic games as the assistant coach with the Canadian Women’s Basketball team. In addition to her experience, Shawnee is also the most highly certified basketball coach in Canada and has accreditation as a Chartered Professional Coach with the Coaching Association of Canada, a Masters in coaching studies, and a level 5 certification with the National coaching certification program.

Even still, with all of her experiences a coach, Shawnee has spent recent years dedicating herself to the mental side of the game by helping athletes make sense of what’s going on in their head and heart in order to cut through the noise, and, as she puts it, unleash their inner tiger.


Life After The Military: Don Gleason and Matt Scherer; Military Transition Roundtable

Do you want to know a secret to success?

Do you want to follow a principle of the most successful people in the world?

Are you familiar with Napoleon Hill and his book Think and Grow Rich?

Ever hear of the Mastermind Principle?

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If you are a transitioning veteran or know any, you will get so much value from this week’s episode of Life After The Military with our guests and Air Force veterans Matt Scherer and Don Gleason – two highly successful veteran entrepreneurs who serve as the President and Vice President of the Military Transition Roundtable (MTR).

This veteran service organization applies one of Napoleon Hill’s principles of success: the Mastermind Principle. It simply states that if you want to achieve a level of success, you must surround yourself with people who have already achieved that level of success.

 

In the episode, Don and Matt explain how transitioning veterans will increase their transition success and lower their stress by doing the following:

  • taking control of your transition
  • Networking
  • Enrolling in higher education
  • Following through with connections
  • Researching companies and working to understand how their profits are made, and how your position fits into that equation

 

Matt shares why doing the following will increase your transition success:

  • Joining non-military groups
  • Volunteering in the community
  • Finding out the kinds of people you like to work with
  • Gaining technical skills in the military pre-transition/using LinkedIn to connect with people with those same skills

 

Learn more about the MTR:

  • The DISC personality assessment to start
  • How the group helps veterans understand what they want when searching for a new job
  • How having an accountability partner produces a staggering 500% uptick in the probability of reaching a goal

 

LinkedIn:

Don Gleason:https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-gleason/

Matt Scherer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattscherer/

 

Twitters:

Don Gleason: @DonGleason15

Matt Scherer:@Matt_scherer

 

The Military Transition Roundtable:https://militarytransitionroundtable.com/

Scherer Communications: https://sherercommunications.com/

Achieve New Heights, LLC: https://achievenewheights.com/


Championship Traits For Life - Rob Jones

31 marathons in 31 days in 31 different cities. Even the thought of that challenge is daunting. We spoke to a man who not only achieved it, but he achieved it as a double-above the knee amputee, and raised a quarter of a million dollars for veteran charities while doing it. Our show is called WIN and our channel is called GRIT – today’s guest is a beacon of both.

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31 marathons in 31 days in 31 different cities. Even the thought of that challenge is daunting. We spoke to a man who not only achieved it, but he achieved it as a double-above the knee amputee, and raised a quarter of a million dollars for veteran charities while doing it. Our show is called WIN and our channel is called GRIT – today’s guest is a beacon of both.

On July 22, 2010, Rob Jones – who served in the Marine corp as a combat engineer – stepped on an IED in Afghanistan resulting in a double above the knee amputation. 

Five days later, Rob was in Washington DC at the National Naval Medical Center, disconnected from the Marines and the mission. It was here, that a new mission began for Rob. 

Rob was introduced to other amputees who helped him to begin crafting a new path of perseverance – and thats exactly the path Rob followed.

Since his injury, Rob has competed in Paralympic doubles rowing (earning a bronze medal in the process), he has trekked across America on a bike – a journey which took 6 months, and, as we said at the top of the episode, he successfully ran 31 marathons in 31 days in 2017.

Today Rob is a professional speaker, writer, philanthropist. His journey is nothing short of incredible and above all he is an inspiration and ambassador of the human spirit.


Women Helping Women Series with Tina Fox

Serial Entrepreneur, Tina Fox shares her journey from a successful career in Corporate America to taking a leap of faith into entrepreneurship.

She shares the pivotal moment that solidified her decision to make that change and how she redefined success for herself in the process.

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Show Notes

00:00 Sandy opens the show with an introduction to the “Women Helping Women” series featuring Tina Fox

3:13 Tina discusses how a heartfelt moment with her son lead her to leave a very successful corporate sales career to “do something different”

9:50 Sandy relays her own story of transitioning and how her husband helped to push her when she may have felt incapable of making the change

12:57 Sandy and Tina discuss taking a demotion in order to use their mental capacity to support the future you’re trying to create, and the reactions to their decisions

23:04 Tina and Sandy discuss fine-tuning your frequency to what you want to gravitate towards and a better way to look at pursuing your passions

29:49 Tina explains Women on Course and how she partnered with the company through starting her own private business group for women, to eventually become part-owner

35:40 Sandy shares her experience as an accountant at a Women on Course event 

39:03 The conversation shifts to the current state of ‘women helping women’

43:23 Tina explains how she was prompted by a friend to mentor and how she pushes more women to mentor as well

50:32 Sandy closes the show on a warm note; Tina tells us how to find her online


Rise Above the Challenges with Jason Cormier

“Nothing is insurmountable.” Jenn is joined by a very special guest and new member of the Pivotal Moments Media team, Jason Cormier. As if being a renowned neurosurgeon wasn’t enough, Jason also works with high level sporting organizations, has a background in music and is the author of his upcoming book, “Driven.”

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Needless to say, he has a lot of insight to share – which he does! Join Jason and Jenn for a conversation about the importance of life’s turns, addressing the challenges, deciding how to handle failures and more. Plus, Jason gives a preview of his book with a heartfelt story featured in its introduction! 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-cormier-md-83995515 

 

SHOW NOTES/”KEY TAKEAWAYS”:

00:00 Jenn opens the floor Jason Cormier, a new host on the Pivotal Moments Media team

1:06 Jason introduces himself as a father and neurosurgeon, briefly discussing his diverse past in the racing and music industries

4:01 Jason explains to the audience how his work in the medical field led him to collaborations with high level sporting organizations, to write a book, and to create music as a producer

9:24 Jenn and Jason chat about music and how it relates to the mind in their everyday lives

11:11 Jason tees up his upcoming book, “Driven”, hoping to inspire people to push past adversity

14:29 Jason tells the audience how he defines mental fitness as power of passion, willpower and drive, noting that mental fitness is a state of wellbeing that includes the emotional, social, financial and the physical

18:43 Jenn and Jason discuss why people fail, noting contributing aspects including – bad parenting, social media, a negative environment and a lack of patience

22:43 Jason discloses a heartfelt story from the introduction of his new book 

28:20 Jason leaves parting words for the PMM audience

30:38 Jenn closes the show

 

QUOTES MENTIONED:

“You can do anything you want.” – Jason

“Music stimulates the mind in so many ways.” – Jason

“Rise above those challenges of people telling you you can’t do something. And I think when someone tells you you can’t do something, it just means ‘look, I can’t do it with you’, but some way I’m going to make it happen.” – Jason

“I have a lot of failures… You have to choose whether or not you’re going to succumb to your failures or you’re going to learn from them.” – Jason

“Mental fitness is most well defined as a state of wellbeing.. Having a positive sense of how we feel, how we think and act.” – Jason

“Celebrate the failures.” – Jenn

“Unfettered access to the internet can really destroy someone.” – Jason

“Surround yourself with positive people.” – Jason

“Things are possible as long as you trust.” – Jason

“Nothing is insurmountable.” – Jason

Success is really just a lease and rent is due every single day.” – Jason


Championship Traits For Life - Coach Matt Lisle

Watch any Disney sports film and you’ll most likely witness a heart-warming story of an underdog rising the ranks to achieve some form of greatness. We might not be Disney, but this podcast is going to tell a story like that – about how one man’s passion for his sport took him from being homeless to becoming the only individual to coach at EVERY level in both baseball and softball.

Coach Matt Lisle, has a journey thats worth learning from. Matt is the most followed baseball and softball coach in the world. In addition to his coaching, Matt is also a successful businessman and a proud father and grandfather. His story will both inspire you and motivate you as you listen.


Championship Traits For Life - Brad Thomas

Sacrifice and service are two words that those on teams and the military use often – but with drastically different meanings. No matter the arena, the group that understands the severity and calling of those words will be in a position to succeed.

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Brad Thomas is the founder, songwriter and lead guitarist for Silence & Light – an all-veteran band that brings mental health awareness through music. Brad is also a former Army Ranger and Delta Force operator, having spent over 20 years in the service.

While Silence & Light has attracted grammy award winning producers and quite the fan base, the band has embraced the higher mission of giving back by donating their royalties to special operations, veterans and first responder charitable organizations.

He’s the first guest we’ve had on the show that we can say is both a Rock Star and a member of the tier-1 special operations.